The present invention relates to the electric storage battery art, and more particularly, to a new and improved battery package and method of making same, for shipping and storing an electric storage battery which has been charged and dumped and which contains a residual amount of electrolyte in the battery plates and cells. More particularly, the present invention is an improvement over the invention disclosed in my prior issued U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,617, the disclosure of which patent is specifically incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
The so-called charged and dumped battery has been well known for decades. Such batteries are produced for many purposes, including without limitation, the prevention of spillage of electrolyte during transit and the increased storage life while the battery is being stored. In the prior art, numerous venting mechanisms have been provided so that the storage battery in a fully charged condition may be stored after removal of the electrolyte for many months without material loss of capacity and without developing excessive pressure. See for example, the patent to J. L. Woodbridge U.S. Pat. No. 1,816,035, issued July 28, 1931, and the patents to C. C. Wallace, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,758,545 and 1,907,911. These patents show vent caps with holes therein having a very small cross-section. For example, the Wallace patent shows a device which has a horizontal opening of very small diameter with respect to its length. The Woodbridge patent provides a duct which has a cross-section of a diameter not over 5 percent of its length. Both patents refer to a capillary duct of minute cross-section. More recently the Sabatino U.S. Pat. No. 3,253,963 deals generally with the same problems. Similarly, please refer to abandoned patent application Ser. No. 377,563, filed July 9, 1973 and abandoned patent application Ser. No. 486,662, filed July 8, 1974, entitled "Battery Vent Seal," wherein seals are disclosed which are formed with: a conical body adapted to be sealingly wedged into a fill hole opening, a surrounding lip which engages the top of the fill hole when the body is pressed into place, and a small aperture formed through the seal for resisting gas flow but permitting gas after a slight pressure build-up to be vented from the cell. Generally, these disclosures show individual vent plugs which are either rather complicated in structure or require a substantial amount of material.